


A Study in Ruby

by InnermostBox



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Red Beauty - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/F, Once Upon a Time (TV) References, Red Beauty - Freeform, anti-rumplestiltskin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-31
Updated: 2016-01-31
Packaged: 2018-05-17 08:52:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5862559
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnermostBox/pseuds/InnermostBox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a run-in with her ex-husband, Belle decides she needs to take some steps to look after herself</p><p>After a midnight stroll gone haywire, Ruby discovers some hidden talents. </p><p>One research mission, two secret identities, a lot of confusion.</p><p>*Part of the Red Beauty tropefest* Thanks to Lady_Slytherin for beta reading</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Study in Ruby

Chapter One

“What time do you call this?” Ruby’s grandmother called from the top of the stairs.

“Dammit” Ruby swore under her breath, abandoning her attempt to sneak in without making any noise and closing the door behind her with a loud click.

“No cursing, young lady” Ruby rolled her eyes and padded into the kitchen, scooping her hair away from her face and dipping her head beneath the tap, gulping down water. Her tongue felt as fuzzy as her memories of the night before and every muscle in her body ached.

“What are you doing, trying to drink the entire Rouge River?” her granny demanded. 

Ruby jerked her head up at the sound of her voice, colliding with the tap. 

She let out a gasp of pain, and rubbed her head as she locked eyes with her grandmother, a mixture of disapproval and concern in her pale blue eyes. Without taking her eyes off her granddaughter, she sat at the table, only breaking eye contact to glance at the clock, hovering perilously close to 8 am, and back at Ruby.

“I’m sorry,” Ruby muttered, trying to comb back her tangled hair with her fingers only to discover the hair tie that usually resided on her wrist was missing, and mentally cursed.

“Sit down,” was the only reply she received, obeying without protest, too tired to talk. “Where were you last night?”

“I don’t remember,” Ruby insisted, her hand quivering against the table in a mixture of hunger and exhaustion. Her grandmother sighed.

“I don’t want to have this argument again. The city isn’t safe at night, and these days, you hear rumours, Ruby. It’s dangerous to be out alone and I can’t protect you if you don’t tell me where you’re going. I have accepted that I can’t stop you from going out for whatever it is you get up to, but you have to tell me.’”

Ruby’s eyes focussed on one spot of the table, mind beginning to shut down from sleep deprivation, her grandmother’s words fading to a hum in the background.

“Ruby, I’m serious. I know you’re an adult but that doesn’t make you any safer out here and I worry,” she continued, words flitting in and out of Ruby’s consciousness.

“I can take care of myself, Granny, nothing has ever happened to me before!” she protested

“There’s a first for everything. It’s none of my business what you were up to but I’ve at least got to know where you’re going.”

“I told you I don’t remember!’ Ruby’s head shot up. She looked her grandmother straight in the eye, then quickly backed down and stared at the table. ‘I normally just wander around the city, but I don’t remember what happened last night. I went for a run, and then I woke up in an alley next to Madison Avenue.”

Her grandmothers look of concern deepened.

“Does this happen often?”

Ruby shook her head. Her grandmother turned away, occupying herself with boiling the kettle while Ruby crossed her arms over the table and rested her head on them, slipping into a half-dream. It got no further than the sound of garbled voices and the feeling of cold air on her cheeks, and the strange sensation in her legs before her grandmother shook her awake.

“Drink this, and then get some sleep. I need to have a word with you about something but it can wait until you’re rested.” Ruby tipped the cup towards her lips and sipped the scalding liquid, settling it back down to cool. When she finally processed what her grandmother had said she raised her head to look at her.

“A word about what?” fear snuck into her voice.

“I told you, that’s a problem for later, young lady. It’s no good talking to you in this state. And you’d better change into some clean clothes, I don’t want you tracking all that mud through the house. God knows what you got up to last night but it sure as hell wasn’t tidy”

With no energy to argue, Ruby obeyed, abandoning the tea and trudging upstairs, throwing off her dirty clothes into a ball in the laundry basket and collapsing into bed to dream of moonlit streets and the feeling of running through the city. Except she always felt too close to the ground.  
*****  
Belle sighed as she glanced from the book cover to the shelf towering a couple of feet above her – even accounting for her heels -and back to the cover.

“Curse you, History of Celtic Folk Tales” she muttered, when a mass of curly red hair popped out from behind the stack of books behind her.

“Happy birthday!!!” Merida swung around, cupcake in one hand, ignoring the stack wobbling perilously beside her. “I know you don’t like to celebrate, but I thought a tiny present wouldn’t do any harm” she beamed. “I didn’t cook it, don’t worry, I got it from this brilliant bakery up the road” she added, noting Belle’s hesitation.

“Thanks” Belle took it from her with a smile. “Wait…when did you get the time off work?” she asked, prompting another laugh from Merida.

“It’s a Saturday? Some of us don’t work every hour of the day. Much more fun things to do. Although I do have practice in half an hour, but they can wait a while for their star archer.” she added with another grin. Half of those who met Merida laboured under the impression that she lived in a permanent sunbeam, while the other half were too scared of her temper to make any assumptions of her character whatsoever. Belle, despite knowing her only a matter of months was already familiar enough with the bouncy Scottish girl to know that both groups were entirely incorrect. Although she had to admit that wrestling her away from a young man at the front desk who had attempted to explain the history of the Battle of Bannockburn to her wasn’t the greatest of first impressions. Or giving her concussion by accidentally tipping a book onto her head.

“Do you need help with that?” Merida asked, gesturing to the book in Belle’s hand.

“Oh no it’s fine, I just need to grab a ladder, I think Kevin ran off with it again….” Belle replied. As fond of Merida as she was, she was wary of her offers to help, after a panic-inducing moment in which she had decided to clamber up the side of the shelf to put a book away, nearly tipping the entirety of the Egyptian history section onto the floor.

“Fair enough” Merida shrugged, attention straying to the books beside her, tilting her head to read the covers and wrinkling her nose as she came across titles that bored her.

“I’d better get back to work” Belle announced, receiving a non-committal noise from Merida and she slipped past her, heading towards the staff room and stashing her cupcake beside the kettle before setting off in search of the ladder. As she reached the front desk the automatic doors opened with a swish, giving way to a man limping in with a cane. Belle’s heart stopped.

_No._

Frozen in fear, she glanced towards the staff room. There was no way she was going to get back in there unnoticed, but _she couldn’t let him see her._ Breath still caught in her throat, she ducked behind the desk, tucking herself beneath the computer and hoping he hadn’t seen her. 

‘What are you doing down there?’ a voice piped up from above her, and she raised her eyes to glare at Kevin. Waving her hands at him frantically, she grabbed a pen that had fallen into the dusty world beneath the desk and held it towards him.

‘You can’t let him know that I’m here, please’ she begged, pressing the pen into his hand. He nodded, frowning, and took it out of her hand, straightening up to greet the man. Belle squeezed her eyes tight, her heartbeat pounding in her ears at the sound of his voice, a little like Merida’s, but darker, although it hadn’t always felt that way.

“I wondered, have you seen this girl?” he asked, and Belle heard a faint brush above her as he pushed something -presumably a photograph- towards Kevin.

“Nope” he replied smoothly

“I see” Belle heard his cane tap against the floor as he turned to leave.

“Hey, Kevin, have you seen Belle anywhere?” Merida’s voice rang through the quiet library, and Belle bit her lip to stop herself crying out in panic.

 _I should’ve changed my name._ Belle mentally cursed herself, praying that Kevin had enough presence of mind to talk himself out of this.

“No, she left” Kevin replied. “About three months ago…” Belle could imagine him shooting Merida a glare. Thankfully she was quick-witted enough to pick up on it.  
“Ohhhhh” she exclaimed as if realising for the first time. “Of course! Honestly, I’d forget my own head if it wasn’t screwed on! They moved her to Chicago or some place didn’t they? Ah well, I’ll just call her” Merida replied brightly, her words followed by the scuttle of feet towards the door.  
“Well, thank you for your help.” Belle heard his voice reply, clearly unconvinced. She waited until she heard the swish of the door opening and Kevin ducked beneath the table.  
“He’s gone, it’s fine.” He flashed her a quick smile, asking for no explanation.

This was just as well as Belle offered none, stumbling towards the glass panels stretching across the entrance to the library. Her hand trembled against the glass as she watched him walk away down the pale grey streets, his cane tapping against the pavement with every step.


End file.
